Lee Mack

Episodes staring Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig (both from Green Wing) tells the story of two of successful British comedy writers trying to translate their award winning show to an American audience. Various US TV executives plug in to the process with their ideas of what the public want and how to Americanis(z)e the show, which includes the casting of Friends favourite Matt LeBlanc in the original role. The idea, on paper, is sensational but it's a shame this doesn't quite transfer into practice.

While it was engaging enough to stay tuned until the end, the laughs were few and far between. The concept was in the Gervais-Merchant-esque mould: a form of 'reality comedy' which does cause derision amongst the UK comedy hierarchy - Lee Mack for one isn't a fan - but this one was just a bit wanting in all areas.

The show has been left dangling, hinting at another series, on an interesting cliff hanger, however at this stage it's hard to tell where exactly a second series could go. For my money, the major funny areas of conversion have been covered. While it was an interesting experiment, in the end the true test of comedy is always laughter, and I'm sad to say Episodes lacked a good shot of that.

Club profiles: The Comedy Store

Lee Mack summed it up when he said: "The Comedy Store is the gig that every comedian wants." Emma McAlpine talks to owner Don Ward about the club that changed British comedy forever.

Lee Mack has a new stand-up DVD out but this older show from 2006 is much better - a breathlessly funny bundle of razor-sharp one-liners and tall stories that harks back to the cheery old days of Eric Morecambe yet still feels bang up to date. Filmed at London's Bloomsbury Theatre.

Not Going Out - BBC1, 9.30pm

The last episode in the current series finds Lee Mack inventing a whole new genre: the sitcoma.

Have You Been Watching... Not Going Out?

Lee Mack's sitcom is a crowd-pleaser with integrity - and this series is even more joyously silly than the previous three.

Leading up to the British Comedy Awards, Comic's Choice invited five celebrated comedians - Alan Davies, Sean Lock, Jo Brand, Jessica Hynes, Lee Mack - to choose a shortlist and winner from among their own personal past favourites. Bill Bailey played affable host, something he does effortlessly.

Forgetting for one moment the universally acknowledged truth that no comic truly enjoys any laughter they haven't themselves produced, the show's premise was flimsy in the extreme. Not to mention confusing - Alan Davies nominated Chris Morris as Best Breakthrough Act for work done in 1994.

Davies also took part in a film recreation of an unsuccessful audition he once attended, as gratuitous a piece of padding as I have seen in a long time. This lack of coherence was reflected in the meaningless studio set design which threw together leather armchairs, old boilers, stuffed elk heads and bicycles combined to create the effect of a gentleman's club located in a garage.

Basically Comic's Choice was yet another excuse to disinter old archive clips instead of producing fresh comedy. Although, having said that, the archive clips were rather excellent, so I'm not complaining too loudly.

When actors talk warmly about other actors who inspired them, the results are embarrassing, as a rule. But the same doesn't apply to comedians, for some reason: get them talking about other comics and the results can be tart, revealing and funny. That's the idea here as part of the extra hoo-ha that Channel 4 is drumming up around next week's British Comedy Awards. The idea is that Bill Bailey chats to a different comedian each night about his or her comedy heroes. What are their all-time favourite shows and which comedian would they give their own personal award to? Bailey begins with selections from Alan Davies - always smarter than he pretends to be - and later in the week there's hero worship from Lee Mack, Jo Brand, Jessica Hynes and Sean Lock.

As the British Comedy Awards gets a revamp and moves to Channel 4 from ITV, Bill presents five companion shows in the week running up to the big event, on Saturday. In each he interviews a top British comedian about their comic likes and dislikes. First it's Alan Davies, with Lee Mack, Jo Brand, Jessica Hynes and Sean Lock to follow on consecutive nights.

Lee Mack: I'm bothered by the existence of Twitter

Lee Mack talks about Not Going Out and why he's bothered about the existence of Twitter.